A bending device for the axially slidable rolls of a multiroll rolling mill with four or more rolls can be located in one of a plurality of supporting blocks horizontally and vertically guiding the mounts for the slidable rolls and comprises at least one bending cylinder with a hydraulically actuated piston for each block which transmits the bending forces to a mount, e.g. to laterally extended lugs of the mount.
This stand-supported bending device which is described in European Pat. No. 59 417 cannot follow the axial motion of the rolls and their mounts, also it does not "wander with" or follow the rolls.
More recent developments are directed to roll-fixed bending devices (European Patent publicationopen application No. 26 903, German Patent Document- Open Application No. 33 31 055 and one example in the above-mentioned European Pat. No. 59 417).
By a roll-fixed bending device, we mean a bending device with which the bending force applied in every possible axial position of the rolls, particularly the working rolls, acts on the mounts or the built-in components with a continuous constant effect. An additional basis for requiring the bending device to move with the axial sliding rolls is that such a bending device keeps the pistons of the bending device free of transverse forces, which could arise because of shifts between the plunger-like pistons and the mounts, supports and/or their laterally extending engaging lugs when these are fixed in position and/or held in place. The development of roll-fixed bending devices has however led to complicated and expensive structures.